Apparatus for teaching swimming



May 27, 1969 R. P. EAvEs ET AL APPARATUS FOR TECHING SWIMMING W? W, W

W ;m MM.

U mmw. w)

ATTORNEY Filed Oct. 27. 1966 May 27, 1969 R. P. EAvEs ETAL 3445941 PPARTUS FOR TECHING SWMMING i Sheet '2 ofS Filed Oct. 27. 1966 INVENTORS 12055544 P'vyes Zac/#527 .306,65 By 771W 7507Jw I ATTORNEY May 27, 1969 R. P. EAvEs ETA'L APPARATUS FOR TEACHING SWIMMING Filed Oct. 27. 1966 ATTORNEY United ,States Patent O 3,445,941 APPARATUS FOR TEACHING SWIMMING Russell P. Eaves, R.F.D. 14, Box 236A, Richmond, Va.

23201, and Lucille E. Burke, 597 Bourne Ave., Somerset, Ky. 42501 Filed Oct. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 589,899 Int. Cl. A63b 69/12 U.S. Cl. 35-29 2 Clams ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The equipment comprises a tramway supported above a pool of water, on which tramway run rollers carrying hangers from which the amateur Swimmers are suspended. The Suspension means is flexible and extensible, so that the body of the swimmer can rise and fall in the water, but cannot sink below a certain depth.

On one of the hangers in front of the one supporting the swimmer is mounted a visual indicator operated by a cord attached to the Suspension means adjacent the swimmer's body, so that the indicator shows at all times the relative depth to which the body is submerged.

This nventon relates to apparatus or equipment for teaching beginners how to swim.

When a non-swimmer becomes immersed in water of a depth over his head, he immediately experiences frantic fear of sinking. When persons enter deep water for the purpose of trying to learn to swim, their main difficulty is to keep their heads sufificiently far above water to enable` them to breathe. Thus beginners, after unsuccessful attempts to swim unaided and after becoming submerged a number of times, often become discouraged, and give it up.

An object of the present invention is to provide equipment so constructed as to support a person trying to swim, and prevent him from sinking, while, at the same time, permitting complete freedom of movement of his arms and legs.

.A further object is to devise mechanical means for moving the person through the water near the surface at a uniform speed, while he tries to swim.

Another and important object of the nventon is to provide means for visually indicating to the learner when and to what extent has efiorts toward actual swimming are successful.

With the above and other objects in view, and to improve generally on the details of such apparatus, the invention consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of our improved apparatus, showing a swimmer in position therein, parts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detailed horizontal section on an enlarged Scale through a portion of the tram rail, showing the rollers and brackets which support the hangers, and other features;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation on a similar scale, showing the hangers and harness which support the swimmer, and the visual indicator;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section on an enlarged scale substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

PIG. 6 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a metal clip used to hold the supporting straps snugly around the body of the swimmer;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the visual indicator shown in FIG. 4; and

3,445,941 Patented May 27, 1969 ICC FIG. 8 is a transverse section on an enlarged Scale substantially on the line 8-8 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, our improved apparatus comprises a rectangular framework, conveniently made of angle iron, and comprising suitable horizontally and longitudinally extending members 1 and 1a, vertical connecting members 2, and horizontal cross-members 3. This framework is erected over a pool of water, or the lower members may be immersed in the pool. The water level is indicated by the Character X in FIG. 1.

Supported on the cross-members 3 is a tram-rail 4, shown as of inverted T-shape, and comprising a pair of parallel, straight portions, united at their ends by arcuate portions 4a, thus forming a continuous closed track.

Adapted to travel on this track are a plurality of brackets 5, each supported on a pair of trolleys or rollers 6'. These brackets are spaced apart suitable distances and are connected together by pieces of flexible cable 7, these pieces being joined to form a continuous cable.

At each end of the track, and mounted concentrically with the arcuate portions 4a thereof are relatively large, horizontally disposed pulleys 8 and 9. These pulleys 8 and 9 are shown as mounted on plates 10 and 11, supported on the members 1a of the frame.

One of these pulleys, shown as the pulley 9`, is driven by a motor 12, through reduction gearing 13 and a belt *14, so .that the cable 7 runs continuously around the pulleys, carrying With it the brackets 5.

Supported by and suspended from these brackets 5 are a plurality of hangers 15, -16 and 17, conveniently made of angle iron. 'Ihe brackets carrying the hangers '15 and 16 are connected by a piece of cable of such length that the hangers are spaced apart a relatively short distance, i.e., adistance less than the length of the trunk of a persons body, as shown in FIG. 1.

At the lower end of each of the hangers 15 and 16 are a pair of holes 18, and engaged in these holes are a pair of hooks 19' (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The lower ends of these hooks are formed into transversely elongated slots, as shown, and through these slots are looped, and secured, as by means of riveting, the respective ends of a flexible strap 20'. This strap encircles the body of the swimmer, as shown at 20=a in FIGS. 4 and 5. Two of these straps are employed, as shown in FIG. 4, one carried by each of the hangers 15 and 16, and the loops 20a are connected at their lower portion by a plastic strip 21, which is stiff enough to act as a spacer, to hold the two straps in proper position.

A neck band 22 (FIG. 4) is also preferably employed, being looped around the swimmefs neck, and adjustably fastened with a suitable buckle 22a, the free end of the band being secured at 20b, as by riveting, to the bottom of the adjacent strap loop 20a.

The straps 20, plastic strip 21, and neck band 22 constitute what may be called a *harness. This harness is so constructed that, while preventing the would-be swimmer from sinking over his head, permits a limited upward and downward movement of his body. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, we provide a special clip or clamp 23 which grips the two sides of the strap 20, and is slipped down over the strap to a point closely adjacent the body, so as to hold the loop 20a taut and snug around the body. As shown in FIG. 6, this metal clamp 23 comprises a pair of parallel bars connected at one end by a spring coil 23a and having at the other end a pair of interlocking hooks 2317, which engage with each other after the manner of a safety pin to hold the bars together in strap-gripping relationship.

Referring again to FIG. 5, it will be understood that, when the harness is applied to a person, and he enters the water, he is supported by the harness just below the surface of the water, the portions of the strap 20 between the clamp 23 and the hooks 19 being substantially straight and taut. If, however, by reason of his swimming eorts, his body rises in the water, those portions of the straps become loose and slack, as indicated in dotted lines, and it is this slack that permits upward and downward movement of the swimmer's body.

We provide a visual indicator to show the relative extent of these Vertical movements, so that the person can tell how well he is succeeding in his efiorts to swim.

This indicator comprises a dial 24 carried at the lower end of the hanger '17, spaced a substantial distance in front of and in full view of the swimmer. Associated with the dial is a pointer 25, mounted on a shaft which extends through the dial to the back, and to the near end of this shaft is fixed a pulley 26. A cord 27 is attached as by means of a hook 28, engaging a selected one of several holes 29 formed in the forward strap 20 (FIG. 4), and passes up through guides 30, carried by the hanger 15 around a pulley 31 carried by the bracket 5, thence around a pulley 32 carried by the bracket 5 associated with the hanger 17, and thence down around the indicator pulley 26. Preferably the cord makes an extra complete turn around this pulley and then passes upwardly around a second pulley 33, concentric with the pulley 32, and has a counterweight 34 fastened to its free end. (See FIGS. 3 and 4.)

The hook 28 should be engaged with the Strap 20 as close to the persons body as practical, so as to provide as much room as possible for the slack portion shown in FIG. 5.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that, in operation, the motor 12 drives the endless cable 7 and associated brackets `5 and hangers 15, 16 and 17 continuously around the track, thus propelling the person in the harness along through the water. As he tries to swim, his etforts will cause his body to rise and fall to some extent in the water, thus moving the cord 27 and Operating the indicator, and when he succeeds in actually swimming, so that his body is sustained independent of the harness, creating slack in the straps 20, the rising of his body to the normal level will permit the counterweight 34 to pull the cord 27 in such a manner as to turn the pointer of the indicator clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 7, to cause it to register with a suitable legend on the dial such as swimming, so that the swimmer will know that he has succeeded.

What is clamed is:

1. The combination with an elevated tram rail supported above a pool of water, of rigid hangers depending from said tram rail and supported thereon by means of brackets and rollers, means for supporting the body of a swimmer from the lower ends of a pair of said hangers at such a height that the swimmer's body is partially submerged in the water, said supporting means comprising a flexible element permitting the body to move upwardly and downwardly in the water relative to said hangers, but limiting the depth to which the body can snk, and a visual indicator supported on another of said hangers in front of and in sight of the swimmer, and means for Operating said indicator in accordance with the upward and downward movements of the swimmeris body, to show the relative depth thereof.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which the means for Operating said indicator includes a cord having its end attached to the flexible element adjacent the swimmeris body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 344,905 7/1886 Hodgson 116-118 X 723,759 3/ 1903 Thompson 272 32 X 793,288 6/ 1905 Faber -29 X 1,580,757 4/1926| Nichols 272-40 X 1,867,627 7/ 1932 Olschewski 272 32 2,780,224 2/ 1957 Wallace 35-29 X 'EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

H. S. SKOGQUIST, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

